Bad behavior could be costly in Baltimore

By
Washington Post editors

Baltimore's City Council president think he's had a solution for the city's budget woes: higher fines for bad behavior.

Bernard "Jack" Young has proposed increasing fines for those who drink, spit, urinate and commit other quality-of-life offenses in neighborhoods like Federal Hill and Fells Point, where revelers sometimes get out of control.

Young says he wants people to enjoy Baltimore's nightlife, but those who don't conduct themselves respectfully should face consequences.His proposal would hike the fine for open-container violations from $50 to $500, and the fine for public urination would go from $150 to $750.

The bill would give judges the discretion to impose the higher fines but won't require them to do so.